Life-saving suit.



l. E. LEPAGE.

LIFE SAVING SUIT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-1B. I917.

Patefited July 2, 1918.

FEYERS cu. nwmuma, WASNINUIDN. n. c.

'. JOSEPH IEJLEIEAGE, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

LIFE-SAVING SUIT.

terrors.

Province of Quebec and Dominion of Can-- ada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in, Life-Saving Suits, of

which the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in life saving suits, and the object of the in vention is to provide .a suit ofsimple and durable construction which will completely envelop the wearer with the exception of the face, and prevent access of water to any part of the wearers body when in the water.

A further object is to provide a suit which will keep the wearer in an upright or standing position when in the water.

-A.still further object is to provide a suit which may be very easily and quickly put on without any assistance and without any possibility of confusion.

The device consists briefly of a one-piece suit of Waterproof fabric comprising body, leg, arm and head portions, the leg and arm portions having integral footand hand coverings. The upper part of the body portion is double walled to provide a space'for the reception of'buoyant material, while the soles of the foot coverings are weighted. The suit is open at the top and is provided with novel closure means which may be easily and quickly operated by the wearer, to make a water-tight closure of the suit over'at thecrown of the wearers head. The closure means comprises a pair of plates forminga clamp, operable by a single movement of a lever,land a draw string arranged to gather the edge of the suit around the opening into the clamp.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention: V Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the suit.

Fig. 2 isanenlargedplanview. V

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the clamping means.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 11, 12, 13 and 1a designate respectively the body, leg, arm and head portions of a suit which are formed of waterproof fabric. The leg and arm portions are provided with foot and hand coverings l5 and 16 respectively formed integral with them, the foot coverings having weighted soles 16. The

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented may a, role,

, Application filed. September 18, 1917. Serial No. 191,969.

upper part of the body portion is provided with an additional layer of the fabric designated 17, and the space between the two layers offabric is filled with buoyantma terial 1 8. Near. the top of the suit which is open to permit access thereto, a face opening 19 is provided,'within which a cap 20 is located. This cap is adapted to fit tightly to the top, sides and back of the wearers head by reason of an elastic insert 21. The clamping device is secured outside the crown of this cap, and comprises a base plate 22, and a cover plate 23, vertically slidable on a post 24: carried by the base plate, together with the operating means hereinafter described. The base plate is preferably of open or spoke construction, as clearly shown, both for the sake of lightness and to facilitate its attachment to the cap 20. The base plate is circular and conveXo-concave so as to fit comfortably on the wearers head, and is provided near its periphery on the convex side with one or more upstanding flanges 25. The cover plate 23 is also 0011- veXo-concave in form, and adapted to rest at its outer periphery on the base plate outside theflange 25. A short distance within the periphery on the concave side, the cover plate is provided with one or more depending flanges 26, the number of these flanges depending on the number of flanges on the base plate. The flanges of the base and cover plates are positioned to interdigitate. In the form shown in the drawings, each plate is provided with a single flange; the flange of the base plate is positioned to interdigitate with the flange of the upper plate and the outer edge of the plate.

The edge of the suit around the ingress opening is provided with guide means 27, for a draw string 28. The guide means may be either rings attached to the edge of the material, as shown, or may be a tubular or eyeleted construction at the edge of the material. @ne end of the draw-string is secured to the base plate near the post, and the opposite end passes through an opening 29 in the base plate, and through the crown of the cap, so as to project through the face opening when the suit is openat the top and ready to be put on. The free end of this cord may be provided with a tag 30,bearing instructions for closing the suit.

The cover plate 23 is provided with a hub 31, carrying a pin 32, which engages in the cam slot 33 of a lever 33, provided with an operating handle 34. This lever ispivoted at 35 to the upper end of a post 24, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and when operated serves to raise or lower the cover plate 23. The ex tremities of the slot 33 are so formed that the cover plate '23 will be locked in either its raised or lowered positions, and can be moved only by means of the lever.

The operation of the suit is extremely simple as willbe understoodfrom the following: The wearer draws the suit on over his feet in exactly the same manner as a union-under garment, with the exception that the suit is long enough to extend above the top of the head. The wearer thrusts his head into the cap 20, so that a tight fitting cap draws the edges of the face opening closely against the face. In this position the free end of the draw string will be found hanging down in front of the wearers face, where'he cannot miss it even under conditions of darkness, terror and confusion. A single pull of the draw string gathers the top edge of the suit in around the post and between the base and cover plates. Reach ing up with either hand the'wearer draws the upstanding handle 34 down and forward as far as it will go. This constitutes the entire operation, and it will be readilyseen that it may be performed very quickly and without the possibility of confusion. It is customary at the present time on ocean going vessels to instruct passengers in the method of. putting on life preservers, and on vessels which may be equipped with this device the same precautions will naturally be observed, so that each passenger will be familiar with the working of the suit. 'It will be obvious that there is much less opportunity for a personto become confused in the putting on of this suit than of an ordinary life preserver. The ordinary life preserver has two shoulder straps and a waist band, the ends of which must be brought together and tied. This makes four elements which must be located and properly operated, otherwise the life belt is a menace instead of a safeguard. With this suit there are only two elements to be located, and these two elementsare so located and constructed that they cannot be anywhere except in the predetermined places. Even under conditions of darkness and confusion any person can locate their face and the top of their head. The draw string which hangs down in front of the face cannot therefore be missed, neither can the clamping lever which stands upright above (lopiesrof this'p atent may he vobtaineclfor the top of the head. The operation of these two elements is so simple and natural that even the inconvenience of the necessarily somewhat clumsy hand coverings 16 cannot prevent their quick and successful opera- .tion. If desired, the free end of the draw interdigitating flanges of the plates and tightly clamped so that no water can enter. It will obviously require no invention to add a transparent waterproof mask to the face opening, so as to prevent the entrance of water at the face opening/ Obviously such an addition carries with it the complication of means for admitting pure air, and discharging vitiated air.

Havin thus described my invention, what I c aim is 1. A life saving suit having an ingress opening at the top thereof, a cap secured within the suit adjacent the top, clamping means carried by the cap comprising two parts, one mounted on the other, with means for operating them and means for gathering the upper edge of the suit between said clamping means, substantially as described.

2. A life saving suit having an ingress opening at the top thereof, a cap secured within the suit adjacent the top, clamping means carried by the cap comprising a base plate, a central post, a clamping member 101111t6l on the post and cooperating with the base plate and a cam lever for operating the parts, substantially as described.

3. A life saving suit having an ingress opening at the top, clamping means secured within the suit near the top, including a base plate, a post carried thereby, a cover plate sliding on the post and means mounted on the post for clamping the cover plate to the base plate, a draw string passing around the edge of the suit secured at one end to the base plate and passing at its opposite end through the base plate and out of the suit. V I

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH E. LEPAGE.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. G. 

